Santorum: Mandela’s fight for freedom like the fight against Obamacare

These days it seems like if a Republican is asked to comment on anything even remotely negative – from crabgrass to toenail fungus – it’s all about Obamacare.

Sometimes, they can even make it work if asked to comment about something incredibly positive – like Nelson Mandela’s fight for freedom.

Former Pennsylvania senator and presidential aspirant Rick Santorum pulled that off, with the help of Bill O’Reilly.

Soon after the announcement of Mandela’s death Thursday night, he told O’Reilly on Fox News, “You’re right, I mean, what he was advocating for was not necessarily the right answer” (ending decades of racial subjugation and oppression? That’s like saying what Lincoln was advocating wasn’t necessarily the right answer, but I digress) “…but he was fighting some great injustice.” (Wait for it…) “And I would make the argument that we have a great injustice going on right now in this country with an ever-increasing size of government that is taking over and controlling people’s lives – and” (drum roll) “…Obamacare is front and center in that.”

So in just one tortured sentence, Santorum accomplished the rhetorical somersault of likening Mandela’s struggle for a democratic and free society with the Republicans’ efforts to block the Affordable Care Act.